The OWGR declared two new updates on December 21st, out of which one will impact both the LIV Golf league and the PGA Tour. Previously, LIV’s appeal to the OWGR was turned down by the OWGR. The petition was signed by 50 golfers but later it was denied due to LIV’s poor 54-hole format with no cut.
The latest structure of points will provide credits to the top finishers in a field of 80 golfers or less. Moreover, these golfers will receive a higher number of points. Added to that, players in the bottom 15% of no-cut events will not be getting any points. There’s another bummer for the match-play events. A golfer will not get points if he loses the first round or all the matches. Apart from this, let’s see which events will be affected by this announcement.
OWGR Amendment Applicable in Significant Tournaments
The PGA Tour signature events, which consist of eight in total, will be affected by this in 2024. The field of these events consists of 80 players or less, hence applicable to the revised rule. Since Tiger Woods was against a no-cut format, the Genesis Invitational will have a cut after 36 holes, and the best 50 will proceed. Adding to the list, the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Memorial Tournament will also have a no-cut system. Now, the rest of the five events will have a no-cut.
Hence, around 12 golfers (15% of 80) will not get any points in the no-cut events. While the top golfers on the leaderboard will get more credits.
Added to this update, there’s one other update from the OWGR, which will make golfers happy. If a golfer wins twice within 52 weeks, that golfer will get a bonus of 60 percent. If the golfer wins more than twice, the bonus amount will increase to 70 percent. The chairman, Peter Dawson, has highlighted the reasons for these changes.
“Based on extensive analysis following the changes implemented in August 2022, we recognized these two opportunities to further enhance the OWGR…Adjustments to the Ranking are made after careful consideration…better position the OWGR for the future.”
Whether or not these new changes are beneficial to the game of golf can only be evaluated with time. Apart from OWGR, there were changes from USGA and R&A regarding the rollback policy. Both professional and recreational golf will see a decrease in golf ball distance.
